My Favorite Place

Girlfriend Getaway to Big Bend National Park

2008-04-20T14:33:00.001-07:00

There's a new travel itinerary up at the Texas Mountain Trail website, click here to read the details!

Hiking, biking, camping and a stay at the Gage Hotel in Marathon...perfect for a girlfriend getaway!

Congratulations Fort Davis!

2008-02-09T05:29:00.000-08:00

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named Fort Davis as one of this year's Dozen Distinctive Destinations!

Each year since 2000, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has selected 12 vacation destinations across the United States that offer an authentic visitor experience by combining dynamic downtowns, cultural diversity, attractive architecture, cultural landscapes and a strong commitment to historic preservation and revitalization.

For more information on Fort Davis including links to attractions and travel information, click here.

Here's what the National Trust says about Fort Davis.

Once again my favorite place, but for a new reason

2008-01-21T12:40:00.000-08:00

I have been a fan of Hueco Tanks State Historic Site in El Paso County every since my first visit. I've been on hiking tours and rock art hikes with volunteers and staff members, and hope someday to go bouldering, since the park is a world-class bouldering venue and it just looks like so much fun!

Over the Christmas holiday I took friends on an organized rock art hike, and the volunteer guide pointed out something new....ruts in the rock believed to be left from travelers on the Butterfield Stage Mail route.

This year will be the Sesquicentennial (150 years!) of the Butterfield Stages, which brought the first transcontinental mail delivery to this country. You can read more about the Butterfield sites and events across the state here!

--Beth Nobles, Texas Mountain Trail Regional Coordinator

Be there yourself!

2007-10-31T08:25:00.000-07:00

Video comes to the Texas Mountain Trail! We've received permission to post some excellent YouTube videos of vistor's adventures to Far West Texas.

Check out the top of the Lost Mine Trail in Big Bend National Park, link available on our hiking page, www.texasmountaintrail.com/hike

And there's a neat video of bouldering at Hueco Tanks State Historic Site, link on our women's adventure page, www.texasmountaintrail.com/adventurewoman (this is a new page and we'll be adding new content in the next few months...keep checking back!)

Alpine's Favorite New Place

2007-09-10T08:51:00.001-07:00

Clearly, Alpine has a new favorite place, the Museum of the Big Bend. An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people turned out recently for the opening of the new permanent exhibit--and this in a town of 6,000 residents!

After many years of work, the museum moved to its original location on campus of Sul Ross State University, near the current student center. The new exhibit covers the history and natural history, and the culture of the Big Bend region, from Van Horn on the western and northern boundaries of the region; to Marathon on the east; and Big Bend National Park and Mexico to the south.

Archaeology, geology, geography, religion, ranching, military history, the stagecoach and railroad, and movies in the region are some of the topics covered. As you enter the museum, visitors need to look UP to see the museum's mascot, MOBBY, a flying reptile!

The Results are IN--Our Top TEN!

2007-05-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

Awhile back, we solicited folks to nominate their favorite "rest stops" in the Texas Mountain Trail region. Each stop had to be interesting, and encourage travelers to get out of their cars for a few minutes, but not require a long stay. We're happy to say there were great places nominated, and they're all over the region: Marathon, Fort Davis, Marfa, Shafter, Van Horn, and El Paso! You can read all about them here.

If we missed your favorite 15-Minute Rest Stop, please nominate yours by emailing us at info@texasmountaintrail.com For your trouble, we'll send you a Texas Heritage Trails travel diary!

Fort Davis

2007-04-12T08:49:00.000-07:00

Not many places in the Texas Mountain Trail region can put one as closely in touch with the past as the old fort at Fort Davis, now a National Historic Site. The fort is spectacularly located in the mouth of a small canyon, and it is the best-preserved 19th-century military post in the Southwest. The rows of buildings that are there now were built in the 1870s and 80s to house the soldiers – many of them African-American cavalry troopers – who protected travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso road. My wife and I like to walk to the fort from our house in town early in the morning and sit on the porch of the hospital, which gives us a view of the officers’ quarters, the parade ground, and the barracks with virtually no 21st-century intrusions. You can almost hear the jingle of harness and the shouted orders that would have echoed off the surrounding cliffs as the soldiers assembled for morning parade a hundred and twenty years ago.

--Lonn Taylor, Fort Davis

To learn more about the Fort Davis National Historic Site, click here.

For more information about the Fort Davis community, click here.

Would you like to write an entry for "My Favorite Place" about the Texas Mountain Trail region? Write us at info@texasmountaintrail.org for more information!

Order your free travel brochure!

2007-03-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

Our new free 25 page travel brochure covering the Texas Mountain Trail region is available! Order your copy by calling 866-276-6219 or by clicking here to download or order your own hard copy version!

Get ready for wildflowers on the Texas Mountain Trail!

2007-02-11T09:24:00.000-08:00

Rainy winters can be rare in the Texas Mountain Trail region, but when they come nature rejoices by splashing the mountains and canyons with brilliant color. Abundant moisture in late 2006 and early 2007 almost certainly assures an excellent – and possibly spectactular – wildflower display beginning in late February or early March, depending on the weather. Dozens of wildflower species bloom in wet years, with the giant Big Bend bluebonnets among the most photographed. They proliferate along desert roadways, as do the bright desert marigolds, prairie verbena and Indian paintbrush, among others. Cactus, ocotillo and yuccas bloom from early spring into the summer.

--Pete Szilagyi, Fort Davis

Photos: ocotillo in full bloom in Terlingua Ghosttown, bluebonnets in Presido, yucca abloom southwest of Marfa.

New Travel Guide for You!

2007-02-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

The Texas Mountain Trail regional travel guide, produced by the Texas Historical Commission will be launched at three public events, and you are invited!

Thursday, February 22nd, 11 am - 1 pm (Mountain Time), Magoffin Home State Historic Site, El Paso
Thursday, February 22nd, 5 -7 pm (Central Time), Blue Quail Coffee Shop, Van Horn
Friday, February 23rd, 11 am (Central Time), Museum of the Big Bend, next to the student center on the campus of Sul Ross State University, Alpine

You can also request a brochure by calling 866/276-6219!

The River Road

2006-12-27T09:16:00.001-08:00

The River Road is not just scenic and fun to drive – it’s a timely experience given the heightened awareness of border issues.
Most scenic segment of the River Road (FM 170) runs 50 miles south and east between Presidio and Lajitas and then to the Terlingua Ghost Town, about 13 miles more. The two-lane blacktop roughly follows the Rio Grande River, which wanders close to the highway in a few spots but is never far off.
This is rugged desert country, jumbled by ancient volcanos. The River Road crosses sandy, rock-strewn gulches and passes the occasional irrigated hay field south of Presidio. You’ll probably see stacks of beehives here and there – Presidio is known for its sweet desert honey.
Then the canyon narrows, the mesas and buttes of Big Bend Ranch State Park rise next to the river, and the River Road begins a roller coaster route between them. The forbidding mountains of northern Chihuahua, Mexico, are a stone’s throw away.
This is what the border looks like: raw and kind of mysterious.
– Pete Szilagyi, Fort Davis

Mountain Horned Lizard on the Texas Mountain Trail

2006-11-30T13:51:00.000-08:00

The Mountain Horned Lizard is found on the trail to the summit of Mt. Livermore in the Davis Mountain Preserve. John Karges, Biologist, for the Nature Conservancy describes these lizards as walking pebbles. The lizard tend to curl up and it color affords it the characteristic of a small stone. The Preserve has open weekend and hikes up to Livermore are available.

Grey Fox near Fort Davis

2006-10-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of a Grey Fox seen at Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center (CDRI) near Fort Davis, which is a wonderful place to learn about the high mountain desert of the Texas Mountain Trail region.

I was walking a trail when this fellow walked toward me. He then realized our closeness and ran up into the rock. His curiosity caused him to stop and look back at me from the safety of the boulders. Grey Fox are found in all of the North American Deserts. They are noctural, so this was a unusual sighting. They are a species in the Dog Family that can climb trees. Note his inquisitive face and bushy tail.

--David Mainz, Alpine, TX
Tierra Grande Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists

To read more about the Texas Master Naturalists in Far West Texas, read the Nature page on the Texas Mountain Trail website.

Shafter Cemetery

2006-09-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

If you're traveling between Marfa and Presidio on Hwy 67 and want a nice break from the road, follow the Shafter Ghosttown sign through this small community to the cemetery. This is one of the only cemeteries I'm aware of where the graves are marked only with piles of rocks. Family members of the deceased take care of the cemetery and they've built a small museum to protect the history of this mining communty. This is a unique and one-of-a-kind place, and the short drive through the Shafter Ghosttown will add to the experience.

--Mark Donet, Alpine
Coordinator, Chihuahuan Desert RC&D

A Mountain Experience for Everyone

2006-07-24T05:14:00.000-07:00

Not everyone feels they can get out on a trail and hike up to the top of a mountain, but there are places almost everyone can feel they're at the top of the world. Driving west from Van Horn, there's a scenic overlook that offers a FANTASTIC view. If you can climb a flight of stairs, it will take you five minutes or less to get to the top. On the way up, you walk through high mountain desert habitat; you can see lizards and birds and walk around cactus. I'm in my sixties now, and it is an easy walk for me. Even though you're right next to I-10, once you get to the top, you don't feel like you're next to a freeway. You're right in the mountains and the view is GREAT!

--Anonymous, Van Horn

Favorite Motorcycle Ride

2006-06-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

For one of the most beautiful – and most lonesome – motorcycle rides in the continental United States, head north on highway 54 out of Van Horn, Texas. Past the Beach and Baylor Mountains, past the shadowy Diablo range, the rider is pulled northward towards Guadalupe Peak – at 8749, the highest mountain in Texas. The road twists and turns and heads upwards into the mountains after highway 62 joins in from the west. What I generally like do is to continue on to Whites City, NM, which is the nearest place to gas up. While there, I visit Carlsbad Caverns and then, with a full tank of gas and a good meal under my belt, I head back south to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. In the Guadalupes, the hike in to McKittrick Canyon is spectacular any time of the year but especially so in the fall – nowhere else in Texas can one find a place where the colorful hues of the maples, oaks and madrones are matched by the beautiful native rainbow trout in the stream.

Matt Walter
Historian/Curator
Museum of the Big Bend
Alpine

Our thanks go out to Matt for his "My Favorite Place" blog entry. We're sending him a Texas Heritage Trails travel diary with our appreciation! If you'd like to write a blog entry and receive your own free travel diary, email us at info@texasmountaintrail.org!

YOUR favorite places!

2006-06-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

We'd love to hear about your favorite places in the Texas Mountain Trail region! Please send your nominations (100-250 words only) to us, and if your entry is selected for posting on this blog, we'll send you a free Texas Heritage Trails travel diary! We're also interested in digital photographs of your favorite place! For more information, please email us at: info@texasmountaintrail.org

Summer Storms in the Desert

2006-06-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

Walking through the desert conjures up many visions: thorny, spiny plants, quick moving lizards, earth tones of various shades of brown, the threat of a rattlesnake in a rocky area. What do you think of? What one does not usually think of is water on the landscape. Water the liquid of life, yet so seldom seen in a desert environment.

Water does come from rain with the wettest time of the year being in the summer months. When big storms form with lightning clashing and thunder booming across the desert it is an awesome sight to see and hear. Some of my most memorable moments in the natural world have been watching a storm build up with huge thunderheads and then lightning and thundering occurring with a symphony of sounds. Also some of my scariest moments have happen when caught in a storm with no place to seek safe shelter. These storms with rain occur intermittently. However water can be consistently found in the desert at seeps or if a large enough volume is present a spring can form. Seeps and spring occur primarily where water reaches the surface from sources that can go long distances back into rock layers and the ground. The desert swallows up the rain water and over period of time it gives some back through seeps and springs.

--Doug Buehler, Park Ranger, Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Would you like to write a "My Favorite Place" blog entry? Please email info@texasmountaintrail.org and tell us about your favorite place in Far West Texas!

Lawrence E. Wood Picnic Area

2006-06-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

Roadside rest areas are rarely considered destinations in themselves, but the Wood Picnic Area is a pleasantly quiet, shady getaway for a picnic, camping or birdwatching. On Texas 118 a few miles west of the McDonald Observatory and a half-hour's drive from Fort Davis, the Wood Picnic Area (called "Madera roadside park" by many of the
locals) is on several acres of pine, juniper and oak woodland at about 5,900 feet in elevation. Madera Creek runs next to the park on private land. Plans are underway to build a public hiking trail on adjacent ranchland, but it probably won't open until late 2006. There is no drinking water or restroom.

--Pete Szilagyi, Fort Davis, Texas Mountain Adventures

Would you like to write a "My Favorite Place" blog entry? Please email info@texasmountaintrail.org and tell us about your favorite place in Far West Texas!

Lost Mine Trail, Big Bend National Park

2006-04-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

Hiking in the pine forests of Big Bend National Park's Chisos Mountains can be the highlight of any trip, but the marquee high country hikes can be too long and difficult. That's why I love the park's Lost Mine Trail, which begins from a parking lot on the main park road to the Chisos Basin. It's no piece of cake -- about five miles round trip (up and back on same route) with an elevation gain of 1,000 feet or so -- but the gain is gradual except for a few steep spots. Vegetation along the route is lush and varied, with dramatic views of the Chisos and Casa Grande peak at nearly every turn. With frequent stops, we took 3.5 hours for the hike on a recent visit. About half the hikers we met on the trail were over 60 years old, so it's not just for youngsters. For any hike in the park, I highly recommend "Hiking Big Bend National Park," a Falcon Guide authored by Laurence Parent.

--Pete Szilagyi, Fort Davis, Texas Mountain Adventures

Photo: Casa Grande from the Lost Mine Trail!

Regional Coordinator Tip: for more information about hiking in the Texas Mountain Trail region, including the Big Bend National Park trails, click here.

Would you like to write a "My Favorite Place" blog entry? Please email info@texasmountaintrail.org and tell us about your favorite place in Far West Texas!

Van Horn's Cemetery

2006-03-31T08:07:00.000-08:00

For some people, a cemetery might be an odd choice for “my favorite place.” But I love coming here. The cemetery sits on the northwest edge of town in the shadow of Van Horn's Six Mile Mountain and Turtleback Mountain, and is an oasis of quiet, beauty, community, and devotion to family.

This is not a place of uniformity. Most graves are one-of-a-kind, just as the people were. That’s what makes it special. The graves, from as early as the 1880s, are lovingly tended by family members. Van Horn residents, many of them exceptionally creative, have made unique markers that really tell a story about the one passed. The lives and personalities shine through.

Some of the families have made the graves small mini-parks, with benches and plantings. They’ve left articles of devotion, too. A stroll through the cemetery is almost like walking through town and saying “hello” to everyone you meet. Just as each living person is unique, so are Van Horn’s graves.

If you're in Van Horn, and want some quiet time off the highway, and some insight into the love this small town has for its own, spend a few minutes at the cemetery.

From the intersection of 54 and 90, travel north one block crossing the railroad track to 1st W. Street, turn left (west) driving all the way to Bell (the last paved street). Turn right and at the end of the road is the entrance to the cemetery.

--Beth Nobles, Regional Coordinator of the Texas Mountain Trail, Van Horn.

Would you like to write a "My Favorite Place" blog entry? Please email info@texasmountaintrail.org and tell us about your favorite place in Far West Texas!